System and method for creating topic neighborhood visualizations in a networked system

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented system and method for creating topic neighborhoods and a visualization for related topic neighborhoods in a networked system are disclosed. The apparatus, in an example embodiment, includes a neighborhood generator configured to receive user input that identifies of a topic for association with a neighborhood; create a neighborhood in association with the identified topic; gather neighborhood information using the identified topic as a search term to search from sources including information related to the topic; automatically invite users to join the created neighborhood; and provide access to the neighborhood via a neighborhood visualization on a webpage.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of prior U.S. application Ser. No.11/961,030, filed on Dec. 20, 2007, which application claims the benefitof the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/976,062, filed Sep. 28, 2007, and entitled, “SYSTEM AND METHOD FORCREATING TOPIC NEIGHBORHOODS IN A NETWORKED SYSTEM and to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/978,331, filed Oct. 8, 2007,and entitled, “RELATED TOPIC NEIGHBORHOOD VISUALIZATION IN A NETWORKEDSYSTEM.” The entire content of each of the above applications isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This disclosure relates to networked systems. More particularly, thepresent disclosure relates to creating topic neighborhoods and avisualization for related topic neighborhoods in a networked system.

2. Related Art

Existing search engines generally use keyword-based categorization,indexing, matching, presenting, navigating, ranking, and managing aplurality of documents. Ranking algorithms generally establish a simpleordering of the documents retrieved in response to a query. Documentsappearing at the top of this ordering are considered to be more likelyto be relevant. Different global and local ranking schemes have beenused to establish documents such as web pages that are relevant to thelikelihood of user's needs. These methods include variations of the pagerank algorithm, which establishes a global ranking based on links to andfrom web pages, simulates a random browsing of internet and estimatesthe likelihood that a user, by random navigation, can arrive at aparticular page. While such methods can provide a global score ofpotential user viewing behavior, it does not take into account thecognitive aspect of content and knowledge associated with web pages.Some approaches have been used to attribute local importance to pages.However, these approaches require an initial query result against whichthe relevance of the related pages in World Wide Web or documentdatabases can be measured. One of the primary drawbacks of this methodis that it has to be carried out in real time; i.e. after a query hasbeen submitted made and a set of results obtained, the algorithmattempts to crawl the neighborhood of these results in real-time to findrelated pages. Moreover these methods do not detect cases where a nodehas exerted “undue influence” on the computation of scores, anddocuments in a community, i.e., the relevant documents, are not ranked.

The most popular method of context creation is through manual groupingof relevant content that can be manifested in directories or any othermanual link and content listing. However, these listings can quicklybecome obsolete due to the dynamic nature of the World Wide Web and thescale of data can also render manual editing of data impracticable orinefficient.

Current search engine and information retrieval systems allow users topersonalize and share their keyword searches within their onlinesocial/professional networks, and also enable users to add tags andadditional information on search results. Often these results aresummarized as single URLs or via access to a manually generated list ofrelevant links. This approach has many fundamental problems, namelyknowledge is mostly a collection of related documents and contents, andnot single documents and contents. Moreover, the same content can appearin multiple knowledge bases with different relevancies, and a knowledgebase may comprise a dynamic set of documents, i.e., a document over timemay lose its importance to a knowledge context and new documents maybecome more relevant. Thus, static lists of documents provide aninefficient means for sharing information. People would prefer to shareknowledge and not keywords or single documents.

United States Patent Application No. 20070198506 discloses methods andsystems for creating, managing, searching, personalizing, and monetizinga knowledge system defined over a corpus of digital content. Systems andmethods are described in which a user can initiate in-depth searches ofsubject matter and can browse, navigate, pinpoint, and select relevantcontexts, concepts, and documents to gain knowledge. Systems and methodsare described in which knowledge can be personalized through tagged,personalized context, and personalized context can be shared withinsocial and professional networks, securely and confidentially and withthe desired access control. Systems and methods are described in whichproducts and services can be advertised in context and advertising canbe selected through a bidding process. Systems and methods are describedby which a user can navigate contexts and concepts to obtain relevantinformation, products and services.

However, current systems do not provide a means for aggregating acollection of knowledge bases and communication channels that can beshared among a set of users who share an interest in a particular topic.

Thus, a computer-implemented system and method for creating topicneighborhoods and a visualization for related topic neighborhoods in anetworked system is needed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments illustrated by way of example and not limitation in thefigures of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example embodiment of a networked system in whichvarious embodiments may operate

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a link provided on a web page of thehost website to activate neighborhood functionality.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example screenshot of a neighborhood page showinga set of available neighborhoods with associated neighborhood image andrelated neighborhood information.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example screenshot of a neighborhood page showinga set of available neighborhoods with associated neighborhoodinformation accessed via a tab on a page provided access to a user'ssaved information.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a My World page that can include a MyWorld: Add Content function to enable the user to create a link to aneighborhood.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of the Edit link in an example embodiment.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are processing flow diagrams of an example embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions, for causing themachine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein, may be executed, according to an example embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates a visualization of a plurality of relatedneighborhoods in an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A computer-implemented system and method for creating topicneighborhoods and a visualization for related topic neighborhoods in anetworked system are disclosed. In the following description, numerousspecific details are set forth. However, it is understood thatembodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known processes, structures and techniques have not beenshown in detail in order not to obscure the clarity of this description.

As described further below, according to various example embodiments ofthe disclosed subject matter described and claimed herein, there isprovided a computer-implemented system and method for creating topicneighborhoods and a visualization for related topic neighborhoods in anetworked system. Various embodiments are described below in connectionwith the figures provided herein.

Overview of Various Embodiments

Neighborhoods are ideal micro-communities: groups of people centeredaround a shared passion for particular products, activities, or topics.They're vibrant and interesting because the people who join them want toshare new things with each other. In addition to discussion boards,neighborhoods can show a snapshot view of related products. For example,the Harrison Ford neighborhood might show listings for Star Wars orIndiana Jones. These neighborhoods also pull in related reviews, guides,and blog posts. Neighborhood members and non-members can vote on photossubmitted by other members. The voting feature is configurable.Neighborhood members can also rate, classify, and tag discussion boardposts.

Neighborhoods represent an ensemble of topics around which members cangather. Topic neighborhoods can be created either by a host site or by acommunity member. The content accessible via Neighborhoods can relate toa topic (e.g. a particular user as with My World, or a specific topicsuch as coffee or race cars). The host site helps make the contentrelevant to the individual viewers/Neighborhood members. For example,the Coffee Neighborhood may have a module for local coffee shops in thearea based on postal zip code. The host site provides the matching ofrelevant backend data, so that a viewer in the zip code 95125 can see,for example, information related to the Starbuck's Coffee Shop(s)located in that zip code. Likewise, an expert in the Coffee Neighborhoodmay recommend a La Pavoni espresso machine in response to a query, andlistings for such machines can appear in a module. Neighborhoodsfunctionality, of various embodiments described herein, provides contentthat consists of transactional content as well as content typicallyfound outside of the host site.

In a particular example embodiment, the Neighborhoods functionality isimplemented in a set of processing modules. In the example embodiment,these modules include: Main Pages, Hub Pages, Merchandising, Blogs,Guides, Reviews, People, Photos, Related Neighborhoods, Title, JoinNeighborhood, Search, Suggested Neighborhoods, Site Integration, and MyHost Site Integration. Each of these modules are described in thesections of this document below.

Referring to FIG. 1, an example networked system 100 in which variousembodiments may operate is illustrated. As shown, various users ofclient systems 112, 122, and 132 using browsers 114, 124, and 134 cancommunicate with and interact with various websites 110, 120, and 130via a network 105, such as the Internet. Using well known protocols(e.g. HTTP) and user interfaces, users can consume and create content onvarious websites 110, 120, and 130 and perform commercial transactions(e.g. purchase/lease products and services, bid on products/services,etc.) on various websites, such as website 130. The content createdand/or maintained by users or websites can be in a variety of forms.Blogs are commonly created and consumed forms of such content. Photocollections, document collections, music collections, product/servicereviews, product/service guides, information sources related to people,places, objects and the like are also created and maintained on thewebsites 110, 120, 130, or client systems 112, 122, and 132.Unfortunately, these information sources are typically independent,disparate, and unconnected. Particular embodiments described herein seekto gather information content in various forms that relate to a giventopic and form a neighborhood wherein users interested in the giventopic may communicate with other interested users and share relatedcontent in an efficient and easy manner.

Referring still to FIG. 1, a host website 140 may host the neighborhoodfunctionality of various embodiments. A neighborhood engine orneighborhood generator 150 provides a control mechanism to receive userrequests via web server interface 144 or application programminginterface (API) 142. As described in more detail below, such requestsmay be received in the form of a link provided on a web page of the hostwebsite 140. Activation of the link by a user of client systems 112,122, and 132 causes activation of the neighborhood engine 150 by thehost website 140. Such a link is shown as link 205 shown in FIG. 2. FIG.3 illustrates an example screenshot of a neighborhood page showing a setof available neighborhoods with associated neighborhood image andrelated neighborhood information. FIG. 4 illustrates an examplescreenshot of a neighborhood page showing a set of availableneighborhoods with associated neighborhood information accessed via atab on a page provided access to a user's saved information. Theseexample screenshots illustrate two different sample pages that display aset of available neighborhoods of which a user is a part.

Depending upon the particular request issued by the user to theneighborhood engine 150, the neighborhood engine 150 can employ one ofthe neighborhood modules 160 to service the request. For example, a useractivation of a neighborhood link may cause the display of a set of mainpages (described in more detail below) as provided by main pages module161. Similarly, a user activation of a neighborhood link may cause thedisplay of a set of hub pages (described in more detail below) asprovided by hub pages module 162. Each of the other neighborhood modules160 may also service particular neighborhood requests made by a user. Asdescribed in more detail below, merchandising module 163 providesmerchandising content associated with a particular topic correspondingto a selected neighborhood. As explained above, each neighborhood isassociated with a particular topic. The topic can be defined when theneighborhood is created. Any merchandising information associated with aparticular topic corresponding to a selected neighborhood is aggregatedby merchandising module 163 and served upon request from a user. Forexample, a particular neighborhood may be created for the topic of racecars. Merchandising module 163 may then aggregate and servemerchandising information related to race cars (e.g. listings of racecars for sale or rent, information related to race car vendors,information related to race car parts or service, information related torace car venues, information/tickets related to racing events,advertising related to race cars, and the like). Similarly, each of theother neighborhood modules 160 can aggregate and serve various forms ofneighborhood information. For example, blogs module 164 can aggregateand serve neighborhood information related to blogs associated with theneighborhood topic. Guides module 165 can aggregate and serveneighborhood information related to guides associated with theneighborhood topic. Reviews module 165 can aggregate and serveneighborhood information related to product/service reviews associatedwith the neighborhood topic. People module 167 can aggregate and serveneighborhood information related to people associated with or interestedin the neighborhood topic. Photos module 168 can aggregate and serveneighborhood information and pictures/images/videos associated with theneighborhood topic. Related neighborhood module 169 can aggregate andserve neighborhood information from other neighborhoods that may berelated to the given neighborhood topic. The title/join module 170provides the neighborhood functionality for displaying the neighborhoodtitle and for joining a neighborhood. The search module 171 provides thefunctionality to search neighborhood data as stored in database 152. Thesuggested neighborhood module 172 provides the functionality to suggestone or more neighborhoods to a user based on user selections, behavior,searching, and the like. Site integration module 173 provides a set offunctionality for integrating neighborhoods into the host site 140 andrelated sites.

Neighborhoods Main Pages Module

This section describes the functionality of an example embodiment of theNeighborhood Main Page for each Neighborhood as provided by main pagesmodule 161. Neighborhoods are typically site specific except whereotherwise noted. Each neighborhood can have its own main page for thesite with which the neighborhood is associated. Neighborhoods can be onall host sites. On all sites that share neighborhoods, when viewing theshared neighborhoods, the page should display with the viewing site'sheaders, footers, and links. This is standard for mini-sites. The URLfor a neighborhood page can be:

-   -   neighborhoods.host_site.com<name>

The domain can change depending on the associated host site. TheNeighborhood name in the URL can be the Neighborhood name stored in thedatabase but can have spaces replaced with “-”. Neighborhood names withnon-ASCII characters should have the closest ASCII character used as areplacement (similar to URLs for host site Stores). Breadcrumbs for thepage can be Home (linked to the host site home page)-Community (linkedto the Community hub page for the site)-Neighborhoods (linked to thesite specified version of neighborhoods.host_site.com)-<Name>(no link).The page title can be host site Neighborhoods-<Name>. Meta tags fordescription can be “host site Neighborhoods provide host site memberswith an area to discuss topics and products of shared interest.” Metatags for keywords can be “neighborhoods, host site, host siteNeighborhoods, neighborhood, host site Neighborhood, <Name>, <keywordsfrom db>”. Site catalyst variables are:

var pageName=“Neighborhoods_Page”,

var pageID=“Neighborhoods”.

Each neighborhood can display a variety of neighborhood modules. Thelayout and which modules can appear and where are detailed by the layoutand configuration files associated with the neighborhood. Modules may behidden if there is not sufficient content for them to display. Themodules that display and their layouts can change in response to theneighborhood type.

Neighborhoods are associated with a type. Types include, for example:activity/hobby, collectible/thing, brand, product family, location, automodel, auto make, book, movie, television show, musical artist, author,actor/director, sports team, person. A page counter similar to thoseused for View Item should track the page views for each neighborhood'smain page (simple GUID tracking to prevent extra counts). Ideally, thiscounter would be capable of tracking the count for the last seven days(sliding total). If a user enters a URL in the neighborhoods domain thatdoes not resolve to a neighborhood (for example:

http://neighborhoods.host_site.com/doesntexist)

or no data is returned, then an error message can be displayed.

In a particular embodiment, users can, 1) explicitly create a newneighborhood, or 2) neighborhoods can be dynamically created on the flyas a user searches on that topic or product and decides to visit theassociated neighborhood. In regard to explicit user-createdneighborhoods, users can create a neighborhood by explicitly providing atopic to which the neighborhood will relate. Once the user provides thetopic, the various neighborhood functions described herein can begin tocollect, collate, and present information related to the user-providedtopic from various network sources (e.g. merchandise sites, blog sites,review sites, guide sites, etc.). The collection of the neighborhoodinformation can be performed by using the user-provided topic as asearch term. Additionally, users can explicitly provide other sources ofneighborhood information that the system of various embodiments canretain and automatically access for the collection of additionalneighborhood-related (i.e. topic-related) information. Once thecollection of neighborhood information is assembled, users can beinvited to join the new neighborhood and invited to suggest additionalneighborhood content and content sources for the neighborhood.

A host site can collect user-provided neighborhood suggestions in theform of topic suggestions from the user community. The user communitycan be offered an opportunity to vote on a favored neighborhood or themost popular neighborhood suggestions. In a particular embodiment, onlythe most popular neighborhood suggestions will be used to create a newneighborhood. In other embodiments, any topic provided by a user can beused to create a new neighborhood. Later, unpopular neighborhoods orseldomly used or seldomly visited neighborhoods can be pruned away bydeleting these under-performing neighborhoods from neighborhoodselection lists and content update processes.

In a particular embodiment, neighborhoods can be dynamically created onthe fly based on individual or collective user behavior, interests,demographics, and the like. For example, as a user searches onparticular topics or products, patterns of user behavior and interestscan be detected automatically by system processes. User search strings,viewed web content/sites, product listings, purchased products, items onwhich a user placed a bid, and the like can be retained and used todetect correlations in the user behavior and interests. Further,demographic and geographic information can further be used to provideadditional dimensions on the data sets from which correlations can bedetected between particular users or collections of users and the topicsto which the users are most closely related. These correlated topics canbe used to implicitly create neighborhoods for the particular users orcollections of users to which they relate. Once these topics aredetected and neighborhoods are implicitly created, the variousneighborhood functions described herein can begin to collect, collate,and present information related to the dynamically-detected topic fromvarious network sources (e.g. merchandise sites, blog sites, reviewsites, guide sites, etc.). The collection of the neighborhoodinformation can be performed by using the dynamically-detected topic(s)as a search term. Once the collection of neighborhood information isassembled, users can be invited to join the new neighborhood and invitedto suggest additional neighborhood content and content sources for theneighborhood. Users can then explicitly provide other sources ofneighborhood information that the system of various embodiments canretain and automatically access for the collection of additionalneighborhood-related (i.e. topic-related) information.

A data model for a particular neighborhood embodiment is provided belowas guide for what may be developed for a particular host site:

Neighborhood id Site id

Neighborhood nameKeywords—used for search for a neighborhoodDefault image URLType (see above)Page/Module layoutCreation dateModified dateMy world query keywordReviews query parameters—keywords, AND/OR, display order (most popularfirst, least popular first, highest rated first, lowest rated first,most reviews first, least reviews first)Guides query parameters—keywords, title only/description and tags,include host site guides, display order (most helpful first, leasthelpful first, most recent first, oldest first), AND/ORBlogs query parameters—keywords, posts/titles/members search, displayorder (options), AND/ORListings query parameters—keywords, title/descriptive, ALL/ANY/Exactmatch/Exact phrase, excludes words, display order (newly listed, endingsoonest, price lowest first, price highest first, best match, category),site id, category id, gallery, low price, high price, preferred location(site, country, continent, worldwide), located in <country>, availableto <country> and supporting the advanced search keyword commandsListings query parameters 2 (second set)—same as aboveTop Searches keywords—keywordsRelated Searches keywords—keywordsStatus (active/deleted)Number of membersPage views

Neighborhoods Hub Page Module

This section describes the functionality of an example embodiment of theNeighborhoods Hub Page based on the portal infrastructure and itsassociated modules.

The URL for the hub page can be the site specific equivalent ofhttp://neighborhoods.host_site.com. Page title can be “host siteNeighborhoods”. Meta tags for description can be “host siteNeighborhoods provide host site members with an area to discuss topicsand products of shared interest”. Meta tags for keywords can be“neighborhoods, host site, host site Neighborhoods, neighborhood, hostsite Neighborhood”. Site catalyst variables are: varpageName=“Neighborhoods_Hub_Page”, var pageID=“NeighborhoodsHub”.Breadcrumbs for the page can be Home (linked to site specific version ofhttp://www.host_site.com)>Community (linked to site specific version ofhttp://hub.host_site.com/community)>Neighborhoods (no link).

The hub page can have a search input text box that allows for the userto enter a query string up to 128 characters in length. A Search buttonsubmits the query to the “search for a neighborhood” back end andnavigates the user to the Neighborhood Search Results page. The querybox can show auto-completed entries as the user types that matchexisting neighborhoods (or keywords) for the site. This can be done inJavaScript (JS) using a JS file that contains all of the terms to match.The other way to do it is with a simple AJAX call to a new command thatwould have the list of terms cached and returns the matches.

The hub page can have a Browse related neighborhoods module—title“Related Neighborhoods”. This can be the same Flash module as on theNeighborhood pages themselves. See the Related Neighborhoods sectionbelow for additional details. If the user is signed in and has joined aneighborhood, the module can start with displaying the neighborhoodsrelated to the neighborhood most recently joined by the user. Otherwise,the module should start with the largest (most members) neighborhood (orpossibly the most recently active). If possible, the module should havea “randomize” button that is configurable to show or hide. For use onthe Neighborhoods Hub Page, the “randomize” button can be configured todisplay. This button can call a new back-end command that selects a newrandom neighborhood from the valid list of neighborhoods for the siteand then return it along with its related neighborhood data. Anotheralternative can be to have the module display several randomneighborhoods (not connected) at the start and when the user clicks onone the related neighborhoods for it appear.

There can be a Suggest a Neighborhood link that can pop up the Suggest aNeighborhood form as in the Neighborhoods Join section. This module isdescribed in the Neighborhoods Join section below.

The title can be “Neighborhoods Recently Joined”. There can be a grid of16 (2 rows of 8) default pictures of Neighborhoods. The number ofpictures and the number of rows can be configurable in the front-endFlash (or for the module if done in DHTML). Each image can be 96 pixelswide×72 pixels tall. The pictures shown can be the default Neighborhoodpictures of the distinct, most recently Neighborhoods by any user on thecurrent site. Pictures can be ordered by most recently joined first. Thepictures can link to the actual neighborhoods pages for eachneighborhood. Rollover effects on the pictures can show the name of theneighborhood. If not enough distinct neighborhoods have been joined tofill the display, then placeholder images (aka blanks) can be usedinstead. If there is an error retrieving data, a message stating, “Wecouldn't find any recently joined neighborhoods.” should display.

This module may have a front-end written in Flash (or DHTML) and may beable to re-use the Flash movie written for the People module but with aquery to a different back-end and configured to not shown pagination.The back-end query for the module can be against the table that storesthe users who have joined a neighborhood. It would return users who mostrecently joined any neighborhood for the site but qualifies the resultsby requiring the neighborhoods to be distinct. Data can be returned inXML format.

There can be a display of several of the most recent users to join anyneighborhood for the site—title “Recently Joined People”. The number ofusers to display can be configurable and be set to 3 for theNeighborhoods Hub Page. The front-end does not need to be in Flash andwould not be a grid of pictures as in other People modules. The back-endquery searches for the configured number of users who have most recentlyjoined any valid neighborhood for the site. For each user, we candisplay their My World photo or icon, userid, feedback score, feedbackstar, and the name of the neighborhood they joined. The picture anduserid can link to the user's My World page. The feedback score can linkto the user's View Feedback page. The neighborhood name can link to theneighborhood page for that neighborhood. The data can be ordered todisplay the user who most recently joined first.

In a particular embodiment, the host site 140 can configure a MyNeighborhoods module. The module title can be “My Neighborhoods”. The MyNeighborhoods module can display the names of neighborhoods a user hasmost recently joined for the current site. Up to 5 neighborhoods can bedisplayed and they can be ordered by most recently joined first. Eachneighborhood name can link to the associated neighborhood page. The usermust be signed in and joined for the list to display. If the user hasnot yet joined any neighborhoods or is not signed in, an educationalmessage should display instead. The educational message can display inthe area normally occupied by the list of neighborhoods and can informabout what neighborhoods are. If the list of neighborhoods could not beretrieved, the message “We had a problem fetching your neighborhoods.”can be displayed. A link to the user's My Neighborhoods page (in My hostsite) can be displayed. The module can also display a list of up to 5names of recommended neighborhoods along with their membership counts.Each name can link to the associated neighborhood page. The recommendedneighborhoods are the top scoring related neighborhoods for theneighborhoods most recently joined by the user. If the user alreadybelongs to any of the recommended neighborhoods, it should not bedisplayed. If the user is not signed in or has not joined anyneighborhoods, then the recommended neighborhoods can be based on searchterms stored in their cookie (if this is possible) or display theneighborhoods with largest number of members for the current site. Ifthere is a failure to retrieve the recommended neighborhoods or the useralready belongs to all of the recommended neighborhoods, then therecommended neighborhood section should not display.

In a particular embodiment, there can be a statistics module to displayinformation about neighborhoods. This module can be implemented in Flash(or DHTML but Flash is preferred). Tabs or buttons may be used to changeviews of the data displayed such as time period or which set of data todisplay. The names of the neighborhoods with the most members for thecurrent site and their counts can be displayed. The names of theneighborhoods with the most discussion board posts for the current siteand their counts can be displayed (assuming the discussion boardsolution allows for this). The names of the neighborhoods with the mostpage views for the current site can be displayed. The number ofneighborhoods to return for each data set can be configurable and set to5 for the Neighborhoods Hub page. The neighborhood engine 150 cangenerate this information not only for all-time but also for a giventime period. For instance, most members added in the past 7 days or mostposts in the past 7 days. Queries for the data might include a “wheredate>now( )-7” or similar clause. In the case of multiple neighborhoodsthat have the same values, then the most recently created neighborhoodscan be returned. The number of days to go back and number of results toreturn can be specified as an input to the command along with the siteid. The command can also pass which data set is desired as an inputparameter (# members, # posts, # page views). If implemented usingFlash, the data can be returned in XML format. The neighborhood nameslink to the associated neighborhood pages. If there is a failure toretrieve the statistics, the message “We′re crunching the numbers, statscan be back shortly.” can be displayed.

A Popular Neighborhoods module can also be provided in a particularembodiment. The Popular Neighborhoods module can be used to display atag cloud showing the names of neighborhoods for the current site thathave the most members (all-time). The number of neighborhoods to returncan be configurable and the value can be 50 for the Neighborhoods Hubpage. Up to the configured number of neighborhoods can be displayed withfont sizes/styles differing depending on their relative sizes. Each namecan link to the associated neighborhood page. The results can bedisplayed in a random order within the cloud. If neighborhoods have thesame number of members, then the neighborhoods that were most recentlycreated can be returned. An alternative might be to have the tag cloudbe the most popular keywords associated with neighborhoods. In thiscase, clicking the links would take the user to the Neighborhoods searchresults page for the term.

A Help pages module can also be provided in a particular embodiment. Newcontent can be added to the Community section of Help to describe whatneighborhoods are and how to use them. Specific Help sections can bewritten about the Related Neighborhoods module and Search for aNeighborhood module along with Suggest a Neighborhood.

Merchandising Module

The Merchandising Module displays listings for a Neighborhood based on amerchandise listings query and parameters associated with aNeighborhood. The module can be implemented in Flash and can performlistings queries using the host site API. The merchandising moduledisplays listings in a manner similar to the product/service listingsprovided on many sites. The merchandising module 163 can query thesearch results API for listings matching the query specified for theneighborhood. The query and parameters are passed as input variables.Each listing associated with the neighborhood merchandising may includean image, animation, or video clip. See the section above forNeighborhood Main Pages for more details.

Neighborhood merchandise listing results can be displayed in a paginatedgrid of 50×50 pixel images corresponding to the gallery images for eachlisting. The layout of the grid of images (number of rows and number ofimages per row) can be configurable and passed as input variables. Thedefault can be 2 rows of 10 images. The total number of results foundcan be displayed. A loading animation can play when the module isinitialized and an animation can pop each item into place in the grid.Mousing over an image can enlarge the image (and mouse off can returnthe image to its regular size) with an animation effect. The mouse overcan also cause the listing title, price and currency, and time remainingto display. The total number of pages of results can be displayed.Previous and Next arrows can be used to navigate forward and backwardthrough the number of result pages. The user must click the displayedresult page to have the module reload with the results of the selectedpage. Forward and back buttons can become active as appropriate to takethe user back to pages they have previously visited. Clicking an imagecan put the module into a mode where it displays additional informationabout the single listing. This information display can occupy the fullsize of the module. Information displayed includes the title, timeremaining, current bid, number of bids, number of views. A largerversion of the image is displayed with panning enabled to see the fullimage. Clicking the image itself can cause the image to fill the module.A toolbar can appear with a close button to return to the detailedlisting display. If multiple images exist for the listing, they can bedisplayed in a slide show and the toolbar can contain forward and backarrows, a pause button, and a gallery button. The gallery button candisplay small thumbnails of all of the images for the listing with thecurrently displayed image highlighted. Clicking an image in gallery modecan cause that image to be displayed in the widget and can exit gallerymode. Mousing over the time remaining can change the time remaining todisplay the end time instead. Mousing over the current bid can displaythe BIN price (if it exists), and shipping price instead of the currentbid. A seller button can display the seller userid, feedback score andstar when moused over. Clicking this can take the user to a My Worldpage for the seller. A high bidder button can display the high bidderuserid, feedback score, and star. Clicking this can take the user to thehigh bidder's My World page. A refresh button can refresh the data forthe item. A view & bid button can take the user to the View Item pagefor the listing. A Watch button can add the listing to the user'swatched item list if they are signed in, else it can send the userthrough the sign in flow and then add the watched item if sign incompletes successfully and then return the user to the page.

The module can access the search results and item data by making APIcalls. A search box allowing for 50 characters of input and a searchbutton can allow a user to input their own search terms and override thevalues configured in the input variables. The display of the search boxand button can be configurable as input variables. Other embodiments mayauto refresh to display more listings or offer alternative views such asauto switching to a display of 3 listings ending soon, popular productsassociated with a neighborhood, or most watched items. The module can bere-used on other web pages that are not hosted by the host site as astand-alone application. The module should store default English textfor this case. If no results can be found, the message “We couldn't findany listings.” can be displayed. If there is an error returning theresults, the message “We had a problem fetching the listings.” can bedisplayed.

Blogs Module

This module can display the related blog posts for a Neighborhood. Themodule can be displayed in different layouts and so can be able toresize accordingly. The posts can be returned from a query in the Blogsearch on pre-defined keywords and parameters stored in the data modelfor each neighborhood and ordered by the attributes defined for theparticular NH (Refer to Blog Query Section). The module can have aheading—Title: ‘Blogs’. The total number of related posts (count) can bedisplayed—“XXX related posts”. If the query result is 0, then thissection cannot be displayed. The number of related posts can be aHyperlink. The related posts can be displayed in a fashion similar tothe blogs post search results page.

For each post, the displayed information in a particular embodiment isas follows.

-   -   Post Title—This is a hyperlink to the actual post itself. Ex)        http://blogs.host_site.com/cards_nstuff/entry/Hi-phew-Taking-a-break/_WOQQidZ254233017    -   Userid of the blogger—This is a hyperlink to the blogger's My        World page.    -   The blogger's feedback score. This is a hyperlink to the        blogger's View Feedback page.    -   The blogger's feedback star.    -   Post Date—Date and time in standard local format.    -   Additional information returned from the blogs search back end        that is not currently displayed for each post also includes the        My World image for the blogger, the title and URL for the blog        itself, and the number of comments.

The default number of posts to be displayed in the module is 3. Thisnumber can be configurable. The links below appear only if there arematching blog post results returned.

-   -   More—Link to display all the matching blog posts in blog posts        search results. This can link to the blog search results page        for the actual query executed by the module. NOTE: This query        may include OR logic and other Boolean operators that are not        normally available from the blogs search web form. This link can        be absent if there are no related blogs/no more related blogs to        display.    -   Start Blogging—This is a link to the Blog Start        page—http://blogs.host_site.com/ws/host siteISAPI.dll?BlogStart

If the blog query search returns 0 results, then a message “We couldn'tfind any matching blog posts. Be the first to blog.” can be displayed inthe area where the blog posts would normally appear. This can be a linkto the Blog Start page—http://blogs.host_site.com/ws/hostsiteISAPI.dll?BlogStart. If there is an error in retrieving the blogs,display the message “Sorry, the related blogs could not be displayednow” instead of actually displaying results.

Each Neighborhood can store a list of keywords and parameters for aBlogs Query Search. There can also be associated Attributes. Theattributes can include the following.

Results Display Order

What to Search Options—Posts, Titles, Members

The blog query keywords for a particular Neighborhood can be used toretrieve the results for the blogs module. The query search can be alogical OR search for posts using all the keywords associated for theblogs module for a particular Neighborhood.

The query keywords and attributes can be configurable via theneighborhoods data model.

Guides Module

This module displays related guides for a Neighborhood. The module canbe displayed in different layouts and so can be able to resizeaccordingly. The heading for the module can be displayed as Headingtitle ‘Guides’. This heading can be captured from the configurabledatabase. The total number of related guides (count) can be displayed.If there are no related guides then this section can not be displayed.The count can be a hyperlink to the guides query result page.

The body of the guides section can display—(for each guide) thefollowing information.

The guide name—Clicking on the name can take the user to the particularguide page.

The userid of the guide author. Clicking on the userid can take the userto the My World Page of the guide author.

The Feedback score for the guide author. Clicking on the Feedback Scorecan take the user to the View Feedback page for the guide author.

The feedback star for the guide author.

Reviewer rating (if available). Clicking on the reviewer rating can takethe user to the list of guides published by guide author.

Links A link can take the user to the guides query results pagedisplaying the search results for a logical OR query using the keywordsfor the guide section for the particular Neighborhood.

(www.pages.host_site.com/help/find/search_commands.html). This linkcannot be displayed if there are no results for the related guide querysearch or no related guides beyond the items already displayed. Post aGuide—This link can take the user to the ‘Write a Guide’ page.

The default number of guides to be displayed is 3. This number can beconfigurable.

The guide section can be populated by the results as described in theguide query details section.

If there are no related guides—the section should display ‘We couldn'tfind any Related Guides’.

If there is an error in retrieving the guides, then a message “Sorry wecouldn't display any Guides currently” can be displayed.

Each neighborhood can define keywords used to query for related guides.The number of keywords is not constant and can be configured. Eachneighborhood can define attributes specifying the order of displayingthe query results and other parameters related to the query. The searchcan be conducted on all the guide keywords defined for a neighborhood(logical OR) as defined inwww.pages.host_site.com/help/find/search_commands.html.

Reviews Module

This module displays reviews based on the review query associated with aneighborhood. The module can be displayed in different layouts and socan be able to resize accordingly. The heading of the section can bedisplayed as Heading title ‘Reviews’. This heading can be captured fromthe configurable database. The total number (count) of related reviewscan be displayed. If there are no related reviews then this section cannot display. The count can be a hyperlink to the reviews query resultspage. The body of the reviews section can display in a particularembodiment (for each review) the following information.

The review name—Clicking on the review link can take the user to thereview page for the particular review.

The Average Ratings Bar (with the numeric rating score, score out of 5)and the ‘from xxx reviews’ string, xxx represents the number of reviewsfor the particular review.

Links—More—This link can take the user to the review query results pagedisplaying the search results for the reviews query associated with theneighborhood. (www.pages.host_site.com/help/find/search_commands.html).The More link cannot be displayed if there are not results for therelated reviews query search or no related reviews beyond the listalready displayed. Write a Review—This link can take the user to the‘Write a Review Page’.

The default number of reviews to be displayed is 3. This number can beconfigurable.

The review section can be populated by the results as described in thereview query details section.

If there are no related reviews—the section should display ‘We couldn'tfind any Related Reviews’.

If there is an error in retrieving the reviews, then a message “Sorry wecouldn't display any Reviews currently.” can be displayed.

Each neighborhood can specify keywords for a query to find relatedreviews. The number of keywords is not constant and can be configured.Each neighborhood can specify the order of displaying the query resultsand other query parameters. The reviews search can be conducted on allthe reviews keywords for the neighborhood (logical OR) as defined in:

www.pages.host_site.com/help/find/search_commands.html.

People Module

The People Module displays information about members who have joined theneighborhood. The front end of the People Module can be built usingFlash and its size can be configurable (and based on the number ofimages, their size, and the grid height and width). The front end cancommunicate with a back end command or API. The back end can send XMLdata in response to commands issued from the front end. All localizablestrings can be passed as input variables. In a particular embodiment,the People Module displays by default a 4 wide×4 tall grid of My Worldimages or icons from members who have joined the neighborhood. Thenumber of images high and wide can be configured using input variablesand can determine the exact number of images that may be displayed atany time. If the query for joined members is not null, the imagesdisplayed can be the My World images or icons of up to the last 16(configurable) people to join the neighborhood with the newest memberappearing in the upper left corner. Members can be displayed newestjoined to oldest. If less than the configured number but more than zeroresults are returned, the remaining spaces in the grid can display aplaceholder image. If the query for joined members returns with zeroresults meaning no members have joined the neighborhood, then the moduleshould display “No members have joined yet—be the first” instead of acount of the members joined. It can then query for up to the configureddisplay number of users whose My World bio tags (any category) match theMy World tag query keywords for the neighborhood. Only data for userswho have uploaded their own My World image would be returned. Data canbe ordered by last update date of the My World profile. Each imagedisplayed can be resized and cropped to 50×50 pixels in the Flash movie.The crop height and width can be configurable as input variables. Eachimage can be linked to a URL specified in the <ImageLink> or equivalenttag in the XML node for each image. In this instance, the back end canpopulate the tag with the URL for the corresponding user's My World pagefor the current site. A count of all of the members who have joined theneighborhood can be displayed unless there are no members in theneighborhood. A loading animation can be used to pop the images intoplace and another can play whenever the module is loading new data.Mousing over an image can display a pop up showing a larger version ofthe image (up to 75×75 pixels configurable via input variables) alongwith the user's userid, feedback score, and star. Users who have notuploaded their own image into My World can be shown with their My Worldicon (for display of actual neighborhood members). Previous and Nextarrows can display if more than a single page of members has joined theneighborhood. Clicking the Next arrow can reload the module with thegroup of next oldest members. Clicking the Previous arrow can reload themodule with the previous group of newer joined members. No Previousarrow should display on the first page (newest members). No Next arrowshould display on the last page (oldest members). The neighborhoodmembers data feed can take as inputs the neighborhood id, site id, andthe page number to display. The My World tag data feed can take asinputs the site id and the search keyword. The neighborhood members datafeed for the module can consist of the current page number, total numberof pages, number of images per page, total number of members,neighborhood id, and the following information for each image: userid,feedback score, feedback star, my world image or icon url, date joinedthe neighborhood, and a link to be associated with the image—in thiscase, the URL for the user's My World page. The My World tag data feedfor the module can consist of the current page number, total number ofpages, number of images per page, total number of matching My Worldusers, and the following information for each image: userid, feedbackscore, feedback star, my world image Uniform Resource Locator (URL),date of My World profile update, and a link to be associated with theimage—in this case, the URL for the user's My World page. The module canbe configurable to hide the count header and only show the images andpagination. The module can be configurable to only query for My Worldusers based on a specified tag. The tag can be used to display matchingMy World users instead of neighborhood members. The module can beconfigurable to display a search box (50 characters input) and searchbutton that when submitted can query for users who's My World tags fromany category match the query (as long as the user has uploaded their ownMy World image). The module can be configurable to open the image linksfrom the data feeds in a new browser window. If the user does not haveFlash installed, a static image can be displayed along with a messagedirecting the user to install Flash.

Photos Module

The Photos Module in a particular embodiment, is a Flash module thatinteracts with the back end to display photos from a Neighborhood'sphoto gallery. The Photos Module can display photos from the currentneighborhood's photo area. The photos module can be built in Flash andcan have a fixed size of 400 pixels wide×300 pixels tall. If the userdoes not have the minimum version of Flash installed, the photo modulecan display the default image of the neighborhood as plain HTML withtext “please upgrade to the latest version of Flash”. A default photo isspecified when each neighborhood is created. The default photo can bestored on the host site Pics servers in several sizes (400×300, 96×72,48×36) and can use a naming convention to identify which size. Forexample, image400×300.jpg or image48×36.jpg. The photos module works offa photos data feed accessed via a URL. The data feed consists ofinformation such as photo URL, userid of the submitter, date and time ofsubmission, positive votes, negative votes, rank, photo id. The moduletakes input parameters specifying the site id, neighborhood id, and ifthe user is signed in, the userid along with if the user is a member ofthe neighborhood. These inputs are used when making the call to thephotos data feed. In a particular embodiment, the photos module operatesin several different modes:

a. Single photo slide show

b. Single photo browse

c. Upload mode

d. Gallery slide show

e. Gallery browse

f. My photos single

g. My photos gallery

A larger (or fullscreen) version of each mode is also available. Thislarger version expands the area of the screen occupied by the PhotoModule, but shows the same data just in a larger size. An expand iconwould switch the module to full screen mode. Pressing ESC would returnthe module to its normal size. Module starts off showing a single image,the default image, in single photo slideshow mode. Photos that are inportrait orientation can appear with black padding so that a 4:3 ratioof width to height is maintained.

The photos module data feed is returned in response to queries posted toa URL. Data is returned in XML format. In a particular embodiment, thedata returned is shown below.

<neighborhoodid>1</neighborhoodid> <numphotos>21</numphotos><page>1</page> <photo>  <url>http://imageurl.com</url> <userid>someuserid</userid>  <submissiontime>timestamp</submissiontime> <positivevotes>4</positivevotes>  <negativevotes>1</negativevotes> <rank>2</rank>  <photoid>12345465</photoid>  <default>no</default></photo>

Queries to the data feed include queries for all photos for aneighborhood by passing in the neighborhood id and optional page numberor optional photoid or optional userid along with optional number ofphotos to return per page. This can return all of the photos for theneighborhood in a paginated format. Specifying the page number in thecall can return results beginning with that page number. Specifying thephotoid would return the paginated list of photos in rank order startingwith the photo matching the id specified. Specifying the userid canreturn a paginated list of all photos in that neighborhoods submitted bythe specified userid.

The photos module can call a voting URL to record the positive ornegative votes for an image. The voting URL would take as inputs thephotoid, the vote (pos, neg), and the userid of the user submitting thevote.

The photos module can call a delete URL to delete an image. The deleteURL would take as inputs the photoid and the userid of the userrequesting the deletion.

In a particular embodiment, a slideshow of images can be shown. Every 3seconds the photo changes to the next photo in the neighborhood gallery.Photos are displayed in their order of ranking or submitted date (newestfirst). The text “submitted by <userid>-pic no<picture id>” can brieflydisplay for 1 second overlayed on the photo in the lower left corner.Ranking can be based on a photo score determined by subtracting thenegative ratings from the positive ratings. Higher scoring photos rankhighest. If photos have the same score, then submission date determinesrank order with oldest being ranked higher. The default image can alwaysdisplay first, regardless of its rank. The data feed should provide theimages in the correct rank order for display with the default imagefirst. If the user mouses over the photo, the slideshow can stop and themode can switch to Single Photo Browse.

In Single Photo Browse mode, a translucent toolbar can overlay on thephoto. In this mode, “submitted by” text is not displayed at the bottomof the image but displays in the upper right. Only the picture id noneeds to appear. When the user moves the mouse off the module, themodule returns to Single Photo Slideshow mode after 2 seconds and theslideshow would resume with current photo being viewed. The toolbar candisplay forward and backward arrows, positive and negative votingbuttons, a flag/report button, an upload button, a switch to GalleryBrowse button, a my photos button, and close button. If the user is notsigned in and has not joined the neighborhood, the upload, voting and myphotos buttons can not display. The forward button replaces the currentphoto being displayed with the next photo in the gallery (based on theranking order). If the end of the gallery is reached, the next photo canbe the default photo. The gallery wraps from end to start. The backbutton replaces the current photo being displayed the previous photo inthe gallery (based on the ranking order). If the beginning of thegallery is reached, the next photo can be the last in the gallery(lowest ranked). The gallery wraps from start to end. The positivevoting button can increment the positive vote count for the displayedimage. The user must be signed in and a member of the neighborhood tovote. Only one vote is allowed per global user identifier (guid)/userper photo. The negative voting button can increment the negative votecount for the displayed image. It follows the same voting requirementsand rules as the positive voting button. The flag/report button can opena new window pre-populated with the photo id so that the user can reportthe image to a customer service representative. The upload buttonchanges the module to Upload mode. The user must be signed in and amember of the neighborhood to upload. The My Photos button can switchthe module to the My Photos Single mode. The user must be signed in anda member of the neighborhood for the My Photos button to display. Thegallery icon button can switch the module to Gallery Browse mode withthe current image being the first image in the gallery grid. The closebutton can hide the toolbar and return the module to Single PhotoSlideshow mode.

When switching to upload mode, the toolbar disappears and the currentlydisplayed image is hidden behind a transparent black background. Uploadmode consists of a file upload text box, browse button to open a windowto select a photo from the user's hard drive, a submit button to submitthe form and a Cancel button. When the user clicks submit, the file canupload, the cancel button can be hidden and the module can display anuploading animation. Clicking the Cancel button returns the user to theSingle Photo Browse mode. Images can be uploaded to a neighborhoodserver. Images can be saved to the neighborhood server as new image setof 400 pixels, 96 pixels, and 48 pixels (up to 400×400, 96×96, 48×48).The original aspect ratio of the source images can be maintained. Imagescan be scaled (down only) so that their largest dimension can equal 400pixels. Images can have a 25 year expiration date set in theneighborhood server. It can be recommended to users to upload pictureswith a 4:3 aspect ratio and larger than 400×300. Recommended size wouldbe 640×480 or larger. A single user may only upload 10 pictures perneighborhood. This number can be read from the database. If the uploadis successful, the module can switch to the Single Photo Browse mode anddisplay the newly uploaded photo. If the user has reached their uploadlimit, the file upload elements would not be displayed. Instead, amessage stating the user can only upload a maximum of 10 images can bedisplayed along with an OK button that when clicked can return the userto Single Photo Browse mode. If the upload is unsuccessful, a messagestating that there was an error during upload, can appear along with anOK button. Clicking the OK button can return the user to the initialdisplay of Upload Mode displaying the file upload interface.

A particular embodiment can also provide a photo gallery slideshow.Gallery Slideshow is functionally similar to the Single Photo Slideshowexcept that instead of displaying a single photo a grid of 12 (4×3)photos can be displayed. Photos are displayed in rank order (with thedefault image first) starting in the upper left corner. Submitted-bytext cannot display in this mode. Every 3 seconds the photos change tothe next 12 photos in the neighborhood's gallery. If the user mousesover the area, the slideshow can stop and the mode can switch to GalleryBrowse.

A particular embodiment can also provide a photo gallery browsefunction. Gallery browse is functionally similar to Single Photo Browseexcept where noted. The toolbar displays over a grid of photos insteadof a single photo. When the user moves the mouse off the module, themodule returns to Gallery Slideshow mode after 2 seconds and theslideshow resumes with the current grid of photos being viewed. Thetoolbar displays the switch to Single Photo Browse button instead of theGallery Browse button. The forward button advances up to the next 12pictures in the gallery. The back button displays up to the previous 12pictures in the gallery. Voting buttons and Report/flag buttons are notdisplayed. The My Photos button switches the module to My Photos Gallerymode. Clicking a photo displayed in the grid can switch to Single PhotoBrowse mode with the image clicked upon being displayed. The Singlebutton can switch the module to Single Photo Browse mode with the firstimage in the grid displayed. The Close button hides the toolbar andreturns the module to Gallery Browse mode.

In My Photos mode, the module displays only photos uploaded to theneighborhood by the user. My Photos mode is functionally almost the sameas Single Photo Browse. The photos are displayed in the order uploadedby the user with newest photos first. The first photo displayed uponentering this mode is the last photo uploaded by the user to thisneighborhood. The forward and backward arrows can navigate through theuser's uploaded photos one photo at a time. The toolbar can not displayvoting or reporting buttons in this mode. Clicking the Close button canreturn the user to Single Photo Browse starting at the image displayedpreviously before entering My Photos Single mode. The toolbar candisplay a Delete button. Clicking the Delete button removes thecurrently displayed image from the neighborhood's gallery and the listof photos uploaded by this user. Clicking the Gallery button switchesthe module to My Photos Gallery Mode.

In My Photos Gallery mode, the module displays only photos uploaded tothe neighborhood by the user. My Photos Gallery mode is functionallyalmost the same as Gallery Browse. Photos are displayed in a grid of 12(4×3). The photos are displayed in the order uploaded by the user withnewest photos first in the upper left corner. The first photo displayedupon entering this mode is the last photo uploaded by the user to thisneighborhood. The forward and backward arrows can navigate through theuser's uploaded photos 12 photos at a time. The toolbar can not displayvoting or reporting buttons in this mode. Clicking the Close button canreturn the user to Gallery Browse starting at the image displayedpreviously before entering My Photos Gallery mode. The toolbar can NOTdisplay a Delete button. Clicking a photo switch the module to My PhotosSingle mode with the clicked photo being displayed. Clicking the Singlebutton can switch the module to My Photos Single mode with the imagedisplayed being the first image in the current grid.

The photos module can also include a Data Warehouse for retainingvarious sets of metrics. Data Warehouse reports can be generated for thefollowing: Report of the number of images uploaded per week perneighborhood; Report of the total number of images uploaded perweek/month to all neighborhoods for a given site; Report of the totalimages per week/month for each neighborhood; Report of the total imagesper week/month for all neighborhoods for a site; Report on number ofvotes cast for images per week per neighborhood; Report on number ofvotes cast for images across all neighborhoods for a site perweek/month; Report on the number of unique users voting for images perweek/month; Report on the number of images viewed per neighborhoods perweek/month.

Related Neighborhoods

The related neighborhoods module is displayed on each neighborhood page.The module uses a rich, interactive display to present data from a backend feed. The data feed takes as input parameters either a neighborhoodidentifier or a keyword along with the maximum number of relatedneighborhoods to return. In one embodiment, the output can be XML datafor the highest scoring related neighborhoods based on a relatedneighborhoods algorithm. In other embodiments, the output can be inother formats or protocols suitable for a particular application.

In other embodiments, other visualizations of the related neighborhoodscan be done. In a particular embodiment, the “main” neighborhood can bedisplayed as a large “flower” image (neighborhood 910 shown in FIG. 9)with “leaves” that show data elements (elements 911-915 shown in FIG. 9)about the neighborhood and its related photo (image 916 shown in FIG.9). In one embodiment, the related neighborhoods (neighborhoods 920 and930 shown in FIG. 9) can appear as other “flowers” in the same “pot”.See the example shown in FIG. 9. In other embodiments, the relatedneighborhoods can be shown with petals and leaves to provide furtherdimensions associated with a particular neighborhood. Color, size,clarity, shape, and relative distance can be varied to show distinctionsamong the related neighborhoods and how closely related they are to themain neighborhood. Mousing over the related neighborhoods draws therelated neighborhoods into focus and displays additionalinformation—e.g. name, number of members in common. Clicking the relatedneighborhood re-draws the information with the neighborhood clicked onnow being the “main” neighborhood. In another variant, clicking theneighborhoods in the related neighborhood module actually navigates thepage to that neighborhood.

A sample XML format in a particular embodiment can be:

<neighborhood> <neighborhoodid>1</neighborhoodid> <members>345</members><activitylevel>3</activitylevel> <posts>34</posts> <name>Camping</name><defaultimageurl>http://imageurl</defaultimageurl> <score>1</score><commonmembers>345</commonmembers><url>http://neighborhoods.host_site.com/camping/</url><center>yes</center> </neighborhood> <neighborhood><neighborhoodid>4</neighborhoodid> <members>67</members><activitylevel>5</activitylevel> <posts>3465</posts><name>Fishing</name> <defaultimageurl>http://imageurl</defaultimageurl><score>0.34</score> <commonmembers>45</commonmembers><url>http://neighborhoods.host_site.com/fishing/</url><center>no</center> </neighborhood>

The <center> data is used by the display logic to determine whichneighborhood can be at the center of the visualization with the otherneighborhoods shown as spokes. The <defaultimageurl> is used for thebackground image associated with each neighborhood. It would be thedefault image for the neighborhood. The <score> value is the relatednessof the neighborhood to the center neighborhood. The <commonmembers>value is the number of members who have joined both the neighborhood andthe center neighborhood.

The process for determining and identifying the related neighborhoods ina particular embodiment is used to determine the relatedness scorebetween neighborhoods. This determination process can include factorssuch as neighborhood memberships in common, favorite searches, sitequeries, and buying/selling activity. In a particular embodiment, therelated neighborhoods determination process used can be to run the listof neighborhoods through a keyword analysis to determine convertingkeywords that are also neighborhoods. The data can be based on sixmonths (for example) of site activity. The relatedness score can be thenumber of bids+bins for the converted word/bids+bins for the startingword. This would result in the actual neighborhood itself having arelatedness score of 1.0. For example) adidas has 27052 bids+2604bins=29656 and the converted keyword nike (for adidas) has 2476 bids+231bins=2707 so the relatedness score for adidas to nike is2707/29656=0.09. While puma has 1895 bids+133 bins=2028 for a score of2028/29656=0.068. So “adidas” is more closely related to “nike” than to“puma”. The related neighborhoods scores can be pre-computed and savedin a data store; because, they only need to be refreshed periodically.In a particular embodiment, the data store can contain up to the fourhighest scoring related neighborhoods for each neighborhood.

In another embodiment, the related neighborhoods determination processcan include a method of calculating or adjusting relatedness scoresbased on common memberships. For example, assume we have a set ofneighborhood memberships with the following characteristics: 1)Neighborhood A with 400 members, 2) Neighborhood B with 100 members, 60of which are also members of Neighborhood A, and 3) Neighborhood C with50 members, 10 of which are also members of Neighborhood A. The relatedneighborhoods determination process can use this membership informationto generate a base neighborhood's directional relatedness to otherneighborhoods. This relatedness corresponds to a score that can becomputed as the number of common members of a neighborhood divided bythe total number of members of the base neighborhood. Given the sampleset of neighborhood membership characteristics set forth above, thisrelatedness score can be computed as in the examples that follow:

Neighborhood A's relatedness to Neighborhood B is 60/400=0.15

Neighborhood A's relatedness to Neighborhood C is 10/400=0.025

Neighborhood B's relatedness to Neighborhood A is 60/100=0.60

Having computed the neighborhood relatedness scores, the neighborhoodvisualization, such as the one shown in the example of FIG. 9, can beadjusted to conform to the neighborhood relatedness scores. For examplethe color, size, clarity, shape, and relative distance of theneighborhood images can be varied proportionally to the neighborhoodrelatedness scores to show distinctions among the related neighborhoodsand how closely related they are to the main neighborhood.

The related neighborhoods module displays the neighborhoods as nodeslinked to a center node (a network visualization). Representativeexample sites include:

a. http://www.ponderbox.com/experimental/network_navigation.php

b. http://www.etsy.com/connections.php

c. http://getoutfoxed.com/visualization

Size (circumference) of the nodes is determined by the number of membersin that neighborhood. The length of the links between nodes isdetermined by the relatedness scores between the node and the centernode. High scores representing a stronger relationship result in shorterlinks. Alternatively, the thickness of the link could represent astronger relationship. Each node can display its neighborhood's name.Mousing over a node can display a popup showing the number of members inthe neighborhood and the activity level. Mousing over a branch candisplay a popup showing the number of common members between the twoneighborhoods. Clicking a node can move that node to the center of thedisplay and then draw the neighborhoods connected to it. The other nodesdisplayed can adjust position accordingly. Double-clicking a node cannavigate the user to the neighborhood URL associated with that node.Nodes may use their neighborhood's default image for their background. ABrowse Full Screen link can expand the Related Neighborhoods display tofill the screen. No more than four nodes can be shown connected toanother node. This number is determined by the back end. The front endcan display as many nodes as are returned.

A particular embodiment can include a related neighborhoods batch job.The Related Neighborhoods batch job takes an Excel spreadsheet as inputand uses it to populate the contents of the related neighborhoods table.The spreadsheet can contain the neighborhood id, the relatedneighborhood id, and the score. The score can be an integer valuebetween 0 and 10000.

Title and Join Neighborhood Module

The title and join neighborhood module displays the name of theneighborhood as retrieved from the database. The title and joinneighborhood module also retrieves the number of users who have joinedthe particular neighborhood from the database. Display of the membershipcount can be configurable and defaulted to not display.

The title and join neighborhood module also provides the functionalityto enable users to join a neighborhood. The title and join neighborhoodmodule can be used to display a join neighborhood widget on theneighborhood page. In a particular embodiment, there can be 3 hyperlinkson the Join neighborhood widget as specified below.

Invite a friend

Suggest a Neighborhood to host site

What's a Neighborhood

A “Join This Neighborhood” button can be displayed. Display Propertiesfor all signed in and joined members of this neighborhood can also bedisplayed. In a particular embodiment, there can be a dropdown listdisplaying all the names of the neighborhoods for the current site thatthe user has joined. The current neighborhood name can be the selecteditem in the drop down list. The items in the drop down list can bearranged alphabetically. The user can select any of the neighborhoods onthe dropdown list and can be redirected to the selected neighborhoodpage. If there is an error in fetching the user's neighborhood list,then a message can be displayed “Sorry, we couldn't display yourNeighborhoods now”. The display can be plain text and can appear insteadof the drop down list.

If the user is signed in and in good standing (confirmed registered userand not suspended) and they click the Join button, they can beautomatically joined to the neighborhood and can remain on the currentpage. If the user is not registered/signed in and clicks the Joinbutton, the user can be taken to the registration/sign-in page and onsuccessful registration/sign-in can be automatically joined to theneighborhood (if possible—otherwise the user may need to click Joinagain after having signed in). The user can be automatically broughtback to the neighborhood page. On successfully joining a neighborhood,the Join button can be replaced with the view described in “Displayproperties for all signed-in and members of this neighborhood”. If thereis an error during the join process, a plain text message should display“Sorry we couldn't join you to the neighborhood now.” in the areanormally occupied by the Join button. A user should still be able tojoin a Neighborhood if they have Javascript turned off

On click of the Invite a friend link, a pop-up form can be displayed ifthe user is signed in. If the user is not signed in/registered andclicks the Invite a friend link, the user can be re-directed tosign-in/register flow and after registration/signing in the user can bebrought back to the same neighborhood page, and the pop-up form can beautomatically displayed. The pop-up for “Invite a friend” can bedisplayed as a layer on top of the existing neighborhood page. The formcan contain fields to enter the friend's email address and a welcomemessage. The form format can be similar to the ‘Email to a friend’format. There can be a pre-populated welcome message that can be editedby the user. The maximum size for the welcome message is 4000 characters(no HTML, JS, asterisks or quotes allowed). The actual email sent by theform can contain additional text that is not displayed on the form. Theemail can contain a link that can bring the friend to the neighborhoodpage from which the email was generated. The default picture for theneighborhood can be displayed in the email along with additional text.There can be a pre-populated subject line for the email. The subjectcannot be edited by the user. There can be a TO field where the user canenter only 1 email address at a time. A maximum of 50 characters isallowed. There can be a disclaimer—‘host site won't use this address forpromotional purposes, or disclose it to a third party’. The mail candisplay the user's registered email ID in the FROM field. There can be acheck for the email address format (*@*.*). There can be a Send MessageButton that when clicked can perform error checks on the form, and ifpassed successfully, can send the email and close the form. Anysubmission errors can be displayed in-line in the form. There can be aCancel Button, which can close the pop-up form and not send the email.The user can remain on the neighborhood page after submission orcancellation and the pop-up can close. There can be a provision forturning off the Invite a friend feature (Partner Contingency). If theuser has JS turned off, they can not be able to use this feature. Therecan be a limit of 10 emails invites sent per user per Neighborhood perday.

On click of the ‘Suggest a Neighborhood link’, if the user is signed in,a pop-up form can be displayed. On click of the Suggest a Neighborhoodlink, if the user is not signed in/registered, the user can bere-directed to the sign in/registration page. After registration/signingin the user can be brought back to the same neighborhood page, and thepop-up form can be automatically displayed. The pop-up can be displayedas a layer on top of the existing neighborhood page. In a particularembodiment, the ‘Suggest a Neighborhood’ form can contain 4 fields(input type: plain text only, no HTML, JS, asterisks or quotes allowed)as specified below.

-   -   Neighborhood Name (maximum 100 characters)    -   Short Description (maximum 500 characters)    -   Key words describing the Neighborhood (5 keywords, each of        maximum 50 characters)    -   Why is this neighborhood important to you? (maximum 500        characters)

The maximum characters allowed can be displayed for each field. Thenumber of characters remaining can be displayed for the NeighborhoodName, Short Description and the text field for ‘why is this neighborhoodimportant to you?’ as the user types into the text fields. The‘Neighborhood Name’ and ‘Short Description’ fields are required; ‘Keywords describing the neighborhood’ and ‘why is this neighborhoodimportant to you’ fields are optional. The form should have a (*) nextto the Neighborhood Name and Short Description fields to indicate theyare required. There can be a SUBMIT and CANCEL button. When the userclicks SUBMIT, the form can check if all the required fields arepopulated. If some required fields are unpopulated, then an inline errormessage can be displayed in the form, ‘Error message text’. If the formis submitted successfully, the data can be saved in the database. Theform can close and the user can remain on the neighborhood page. Ifthere is an error saving the data, an error message can be displayed inthe form, ‘Error message text’. If the user clicks the CANCEL button,the form can close and no suggestion can be sent to host site. Thesubmitted data can be stored along with the user's userid, site id, theneighborhood id (if present), the date and time of submission, and theuser's email address (if possible). There can be a provision for turningoff the Suggest a Neighborhood function (Partner Contingency). If a userhas JS turned off, they cannot use this feature. A user should not beable to send more than a total of 50 ‘Suggest a Neighborhood’ messages(total across all sites) in a given 24 hour period.

On mouse over of the ‘What's a Neighborhood’ (aka Help) link and icon, asmall pop-up window can be displayed showing some text describing what aneighborhood is. Also, a More link can be displayed. On clicking theMore link or the Help link, the user can be taken to the NeighborhoodHelp pages in the Help section of the site.

Neighborhoods Search Module

This section describes the functionality of an example embodiment of theNeighborhoods Search Module and the Results page produced thereby. TheURL for the Neighborhood Search Results page can be the site specificequivalent of http://search.neighborhoods.host_site.com. Page title canbe “host site Neighborhoods—<query string>”. Meta tags for descriptioncan be “host site Neighborhoods provide host site members with an areato discuss topics and products of shared interest.” Meta tags forkeywords can be “<query string>, neighborhoods, host site, host siteNeighborhoods, neighborhood, host site Neighborhood”. Site catalystvariables can be: var pageName=“Neighborhoods_Search”, varpageID=“NeighborhoodsSearch”. Breadcrumbs for the page can be Home(linked to site specific version of http://www.host_site.com) >Community(linked to site specific version ofhttp://hub.host_site.com/community)>Neighborhoods (linked to the sitespecific version of http://neighborhoods.host_site.com)>Search Results(no link) The Neighborhoods Search Results page can take as input aquery string up to 60 characters in length. A text input box allowingfor 60 characters of input can be displayed and pre-populated with thequery passed in. A Search button submits the query in the text box tothe “search for a neighborhood” back end and refreshes the NeighborhoodSearch Results page. If a query is passed in to the page, the resultsfor the associated query can display. The search can do a caseinsensitive query against the Neighborhood display names and theirassociated keywords for the current site. Neighborhood display names andkeywords can be indexed “as is” from the Neighborhood data model. Noquery language or qualifiers can be used in the query string. The searchback-end can first attempt to find exact matches for the query. Commonarticles such as “a”, “an”, “the” can be ignored using the functionalityalready found in the search back-end. If no exact matches are found,then the back-end can spell correct the query keywords and attempt anexact match again. In this case, the page should display the followingmessage with the “I” icon—“We couldn't find a match for your search sowe tried <spell corrected term>”. The spell corrected term should alsoreplace the original query term in the title bar. After searching forthe exact matches, the back-end can attempt to find partial matchesusing an OR search. If there are still no matches, then the message‘Your search for <query> returned zero results.” should display and theback-end should also show a Suggest a Neighborhood link and displayalternate search terms (from the SIBE alternate searches) for the querykeywords. Each of the alternate search terms can be a link to theNeighborhood Search Results page for the term. A Browse AllNeighborhoods link should also appear. If there is an error fetchingresults, the following message should display “There was an errorfetching the matching neighborhoods.” The total number of results foundcan be displayed. Results can be paginated and up to 25 results candisplayed on a single page. Each result returned can be the display nameof the neighborhood (linked to its associated neighborhood page), itsdefault picture (48×36 size) and also show the current number of membersin the neighborhood, and the current number of posts in theneighborhood's discussion board (if possible). The page count for eachneighborhood can also be kept but not displayed as can the neighborhoodcreation date and time. The neighborhood type should also be part of thesearch index as it may be used to help organize results. The displayname may contain non-ASCII characters such as Chinese or accentedcharacters. The link however, must be ascii characters valid for URLs.This is similar to how host site Stores links are handled. If the memberor posts counts are zero, they should still be displayed. The picturecan be top aligned and centered horizontally and scaled so that itswidth fits the column. The picture's original aspect ratio can bemaintained. The default sorting of the results can be Exact Match. Inthis sort order, the results from the exact match query are firstdisplayed and then followed by the results from the from the partialmatch query (with duplicate results thrown out). No separator orindicator can be used to identify the two groups. Within each group, theresults are ordered by the largest number of members first. The user canbe able to change the sorting options via a Sort By drop down. Selectinga new sort can re-order the results. The options are Exact Match,Membership (largest number of members first), Activity (largest numberof discussion board posts first), Popularity (largest number of pageviews), and Alphabetical. Using sorting options other than Exact Matchcan result in a list of results where partial and exact matches aremixed together.

Suggest a Neighborhood Module

In a particular embodiment, describes the functionality of an exampleembodiment of modifying the Related Guides widget on Finding pages sothat it can also display Suggested Neighborhoods. This module iscurrently used on DLPs and Search Results pages (both classic and new).The related guides widget takes as input a string of up to 60 charactersin length that is passed into the widget from the page hosting thewidget. The widget may be hosted on any host site page but is typicallylocated on pages that are associated with a keyword. This keyword isused as the input to the widget. The widget displays a configurablenumber of results. The default number of results to display is 6. Up tothe configured number of results can be displayed. If there are noresults, the widget can not display. If there is an error fetching theresults and no results can be displayed at all, the widget should notdisplay. The widget can first attempt to query the Neighborhood Searchbackend using the keyword(s). If the configured number of results orless are found then the widget can also attempt to query the GuidesSearch backend using the keyword(s). If the result set is allNeighborhood results, then the title of the widget can be “RelatedNeighborhoods”. Each result returned can display the name of theneighborhood (linked to its associated neighborhood page), theneighborhood default photo (linked to its associated neighborhood page),and the count of the total number of members and total number of postsin the neighborhood. The default sorting/ordering of the results can beexact matches and then partial matches and within each ordered by thelargest number of members first. This is the Exact Match sort from theSearch for a Neighborhood page (see Neighborhoods Search module for moreinformation). If more results are returned than are configured todisplay, then a “See all” link can be displayed that links to theNeighborhood Search Results page for the associated query. Theappropriate size of the default image for the neighborhood can be used.If the result set is a mix of Neighborhood and Guides results, then thetitle of the widget can be “Related Neighborhoods”. Neighborhood resultscan be displayed first according to the logic described above. Aseparator in a visual style similar to the title can be placed betweenthe Neighborhoods and Guides results. The separator text can be “RelatedGuides”. Below the separator, the Guides results can be displayed as thenames of the guides with each linking to the associated guide page. Thedisplay and ordering/sorting logic for guides should follow the logic inthe existing widgets. Only up to the number of Guide results required toreach the configured total number of results can be displayed (numberneighborhoods+number guides=total configured number of results todisplay). If there are more Guides results than can be displayed, then a“See all” link to the Guides Search Results page for the guides querycan be displayed. If the result set is all Guides results, then thetitle of the widget can be “Related Guides” and the display of resultscan not be modified from the existing functionality.

Examples of how the widget can display are shown below.

-   -   6 Neighborhood results (or more)=>only displays Related        Neighborhoods, Related Guides does not display    -   5 Neighborhood results=>only displays Related Neighborhoods,        Related Guides does not display    -   4 Neighborhoods results=>displays Related Neighborhoods and up        to 2 Related Guides displays    -   3 Neighborhoods results=>displays Related Neighborhoods and up        to 3 Related Guides displays    -   2 Neighborhoods results=>displays Related Neighborhoods and up        to 4 Related Guides displays    -   1 Neighborhoods results=>displays Related Neighborhoods and up        to 5 Related Guides displays    -   0 Neighborhoods results=>do not display Related Neighborhoods, 6        Related Guides displays

Site Integration

This section details how Neighborhoods can be integrated into variousother host site pages. A link to the Neighborhoods Hub page(http://neighborhoods.host_site.com) can be added to the GlobalNavigation function of a particular host site. The link text can be“Neighborhoods” or “My Neighborhoods”, such as shown in FIG. 2. In aparticular embodiment, a host site can provide a My World page, such asthe page shown in FIG. 5. The My World page can include a My World: AddContent function to enable the user to create a link 505 to aneighborhood. When a user is signed in and viewing their own My Worldpage, the page may have an ‘add content’ link. Clicking this link cantake the user to an Add Content page. The Add Content page can bemodified to include a Neighborhoods module. The label can be“Neighborhoods” with the sub-heading of “Display your neighborhoods.” Anicon representing neighborhoods can also be displayed. If a user has notyet added the Neighborhoods module, the Neighborhoods module can displayin the More Modules section of the page with an “Add” link. Clicking the“Add” link cause the Neighborhoods module to be displayed on the user'sMy World page. The immediate results of clicking the link are that theAdd Content page can refresh and show the module moved from More Modulesto the Your Modules section. When displayed in the Your Modules section,the same label, sub-heading, and icon can display. There can be a Removelink and Edit link. Clicking the Remove link can cause the Neighborhoodsmodule to be removed from their My World page. The immediate results ofclicking the link are that the Add Content page can refresh and show themodule removed from the Your Modules section and added back to the MoreModules section. The Neighborhoods module (when present) should displayat the top of the list of modules in the Your Modules and More Modulessections.

The public view of a user's My World page is accessed when a user viewsany other users My World page (or the owner of the page is signed outand views their own My World page). If the owner of the page had addedthe Neighborhoods module to their My World page, it can be displayed inthe position they selected or the default position. The Neighborhoodsmodule can display up to the configured number of names of theNeighborhoods from the current site that the user has joined. Orderingof the display of the neighborhoods can based on the display orderconfigured earlier (or the default—Most Recently Joined first). EachNeighborhood name can be a link. The name can link to the Neighborhoodpage itself. The number of members in each displayed Neighborhood canappear next to the Neighborhood name. If the user has not checked the“Do not display neighborhood pictures” option, the default picture foreach Neighborhood can display. The picture can link to the Neighborhood.The picture size used can be 50 pixels wide. If there are noNeighborhoods that the user has joined, the following message candisplay in the module—“This user has not joined any neighborhoods.”

The private view of the user's My World page is accessed when the useris signed in and viewing their own My World page. If the user has addedthe Neighborhoods module to their My World page it can display exactlyas in the My World Public View except that the module header can containa link “Edit” that can take the user to the Edit Neighborhoods modulepage and a close box can be displayed. Clicking the close box can removethe module from the My World page. The close box is the equivalent ofthe Remove link on the Add Content page. If there are no Neighborhoodsthat the user has joined, the following message can display in themodule—“You currently have not joined any Neighborhoods. Find aneighborhood.” This can be a link to the Neighborhood Hub page(http://neighborhoods.host_site.com). An ‘Edit Neighborhoods’ modulepage is only available when a signed in user chooses to edit their ownNeighborhoods module. The page title can be “host site MyWorld—<userid>”. The standard page level header for the My World editpages can be used and it can display in the user's selected theme color.The label can be “Edit neighborhoods module”. Below the label, thefollowing text can appear “This module can automatically display theneighborhoods you have joined.” There can radio button title “Displayorder”. The list can have items—Name (alphabetical), Number of Members(larger display first), Most Recently Joined, and Joined longest ago.The selection of any of the values can display the Neighborhood names inthe My World page by selected order. The default value is Most RecentlyJoined. There can be a drop down list titled “Number of neighborhoods todisplay”. This can have values 1-10. The user can select any of thevalue. This can define the maximum number of Neighborhoods displayed inthe Neighborhoods module on the My World page. The default value is 5.There can be a checkbox with the label “Do not display Neighborhoodpicture”. If this button is checked, the Neighborhoods can displaywithout their pictures when the Neighborhoods module is on the My Worldpage. The default is unchecked. There can be a SAVE link. On click allthe selections can be saved and the user can be brought back to wherethey clicked the Edit link for the Neighborhood module (either their MyWorld page or the Add Content page). There can be a CANCEL link. Onclick of the CANCEL link, none of the selections are saved and the usercan be brought back to where they clicked the Edit link for theNeighborhood module (either their My World page or the Add Contentpage). FIG. 6 illustrates an example of the Edit link 605 in an exampleembodiment.

The Change Layout page is only available when a signed in user clicksthe Change Layout link from their own My World page. If the user had notpreviously added the Neighborhoods module, the default position of theNeighborhoods module can be in the right column for the 2 column layoutand in the middle column for the 3 column layout. If the user haspreviously added the Neighborhoods module to their My World page, themodule can display in its current position in the layout. The user canbe able to position the Neighborhoods module in any of the availablecolumns.

APIs

Various embodiments include an application programming interface (API)for neighborhoods. GetUser and GetUserProfile calls can be modified toreturn the complete list of Neighborhoods that the requested user hasjoined. Live World can use this information to authenticate a user on todiscussion boards for Neighborhoods. After a user has finished payingfor an item and is on the last page of the new checkout flow, relatedNeighborhoods content can be displayed. Each suggested neighborhood candisplay the name of the neighborhood as a link to the neighborhood andmay display the number of members and the 50 pixel size of the defaultpicture for each neighborhood if so configured.

FIG. 7A is a processing flow diagram of an example embodiment. In theexample embodiment, a method includes receiving an explicitidentification of a topic for association with a neighborhood(processing block 610), creating a neighborhood in association with theexplicitly identified topic (processing block 615); gatheringneighborhood information related to the neighborhood from sourcesrelated to the topic (processing block 620), and providing access to theneighborhood via a neighborhood visualization on a webpage (processingblock 625). The method may include an implementation wherein theinformation sources include at least one item of the group:merchandising, blogs, guides, reviews, people, and photos.

FIG. 7B is a processing flow diagram of an example embodiment. In theexample embodiment, a method includes obtaining user behavior orinterest information (processing block 660), correlating the userbehavior or interest information with a dynamically detected topic(processing block 665); creating a neighborhood in association with thedynamically detected topic (processing block 670); gatheringneighborhood information related to the neighborhood from sourcesrelated to the topic (processing block 675), and providing access to theneighborhood via a neighborhood visualization on a webpage (processingblock 680). The method may include an implementation wherein theinformation sources include at least one item of the group:merchandising, blogs, guides, reviews, people, and photos.

FIG. 8 shows a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the exampleform of a computer system 700 within which a set of instructions, forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein, may be executed. In alternative embodiments, themachine operates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g.,networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine mayoperate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in client-servernetwork environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment. The machine may be a server computer,a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box(STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a webappliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable ofexecuting a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. Further, while a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 700 includes a processor 702 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), orboth), a main memory 704 and a static memory 706, which communicate witheach other via a bus 708. The computer system 700 may further include avideo display unit 710 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or acathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system 700 also includes an inputdevice 712 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 714 (e.g., amouse), a disk drive unit 716, a signal generation device 718 (e.g., aspeaker) and a network interface device 720.

The disk drive unit 716 includes a machine-readable medium 722 on whichis stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 724)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein. The instructions 724 may also reside, completely or at leastpartially, within the main memory 704, the static memory 706, and/orwithin the processor 702 during execution thereof by the computer system700. The main memory 704 and the processor 702 also may constitutemachine-readable media. The instructions 724 may further be transmittedor received over a network 726 via the network interface device 720.

Applications that may include the apparatus and systems of variousembodiments broadly include a variety of electronic and computersystems. Some embodiments implement functions in two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals communicated between and through the modules, or as portions ofan application-specific integrated circuit. Thus, the example system isapplicable to software, firmware, and hardware implementations. Inexample embodiments, a computer system (e.g., a standalone, client orserver computer system) configured by an application may constitute a“module” that is configured and operates to perform certain operationsas described herein. In other embodiments, the “module” may beimplemented mechanically or electronically. For example, a module maycomprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured(e.g., within a special-purpose processor) to perform certainoperations. A module may also comprise programmable logic or circuitry(e.g., as encompassed within a general-purpose processor or otherprogrammable processor) that is temporarily configured by software toperform certain operations. It will be appreciated that the decision toimplement a module mechanically, in the dedicated and permanentlyconfigured circuitry, or in temporarily configured circuitry (e.g.configured by software) may be driven by cost and time considerations.Accordingly, the term “module” should be understood to encompass atangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed,permanently configured (e.g., hardwired) or temporarily configured(e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner and/or to performcertain operations described herein. While the machine-readable medium722 is shown in an example embodiment to be a single medium, the term“machine-readable medium” should be taken to include a single medium ormultiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets ofinstructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also be taken toinclude any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying aset of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause themachine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the presentdescription. The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly betaken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, opticaland magnetic media, and carrier wave signals. As noted, the software maybe transmitted over a network using a transmission medium. The term“transmission medium” shall be taken to include any medium that iscapable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions for transmissionto and execution by the machine, and includes digital or analogcommunications signal or other intangible medium to facilitatetransmission and communication of such software.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of ordinary skill in the art upon reviewing the abovedescription. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom,such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be madewithout departing from the scope of this disclosure. The figuresprovided herein are merely representational and may not be drawn toscale. Certain proportions thereof may be exaggerated, while others maybe minimized. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

The description herein may include terms, such as “up”, “down”, “upper”,“lower”, “first”, “second”, etc. that are used for descriptive purposesonly and are not to be construed as limiting. The elements, materials,geometries, dimensions, and sequence of operations may all be varied tosuit particular applications. Parts of some embodiments may be includedin, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. While the foregoingexamples of dimensions and ranges are considered typical, the variousembodiments are not limited to such dimensions or ranges.

The Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.74(b) to allow thereader to quickly ascertain the nature and gist of the technicaldisclosure. The Abstract is submitted with the understanding that itwill not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims.

In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are groupedtogether in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining thedisclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments have more featuresthan are expressly recited in each claim. Thus, the following claims arehereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separate embodiment.

The system of an example embodiment may include software, informationprocessing hardware, and various processing steps, which are describedherein. The features and process steps of example embodiments may beembodied in articles of manufacture as machine or computer executableinstructions. The instructions can be used to cause a general purpose orspecial purpose processor, which is programmed with the instructions toperform the steps of an example embodiment. Alternatively, the featuresor steps may be performed by specific hardware components that containhard-wired logic for performing the steps, or by any combination ofprogrammed computer components and custom hardware components. Whileembodiments are described with reference to the Internet, the method andapparatus described herein is equally applicable to other networkinfrastructures or other data communications systems.

Various embodiments are described herein. In particular, the use ofembodiments with various types and formats of user interfacepresentations and/or application programming interfaces may bedescribed. It can be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art thatalternative embodiments of the implementations described herein can beemployed and still fall within the scope of the claimed invention. Inthe detail herein, various embodiments are described as implemented incomputer-implemented processing logic denoted sometimes herein as the“Software”. As described above, however, the claimed invention is notlimited to a purely software implementation.

Thus, a computer-implemented system and method for creating topicneighborhoods and a visualization for related topic neighborhoods in anetworked system are disclosed. While the present invention has beendescribed in terms of several example embodiments, those of ordinaryskill in the art can recognize that the present invention is not limitedto the embodiments described, but can be practiced with modification andalteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Thedescription herein is thus to be regarded as illustrative instead oflimiting.

1. A method comprising: receiving user input that identifies a topic forassociation with a neighborhood; creating, by use of a hardwareprocessor, the neighborhood in association with the identified topic,the neighborhood defining a group of users who share an interest orbehavior; gathering neighborhood information by using the identifiedtopic as a search term to search from sources including informationrelated to the identified topic, the neighborhood information includingdata from a related neighborhood determined based on participation ofthe group of users in the related neighborhood; automatically invitingusers to join the created neighborhood; and providing access to theneighborhood via a neighborhood visualization on a webpage.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: determining that a furtherneighborhood is seldom used or unpopular among the users; and pruningthe further neighborhood from the webpage based on the determining. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the neighborhood visualization includesdepicting a flower with data elements related to the neighborhood beingshown as leaves around a center of the flower.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising: inviting the users to vote for the topic; andwherein the receiving the user input that identifies the topic includesreceiving votes for the topic.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: obtaining user behavior data that indicates behavior of theusers with respect to the webpage; dynamically detecting a further topicbased on the behavior of the users with respect to the web page; andcreating a further neighborhood in association with the further topic.6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: inviting the users to votefor images displayed within the neighborhood.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising: displaying information about users that join thecreated neighborhood including images of the users that join the createdneighborhood.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying alist of recommended neighborhoods including a number of users that arewithin each of the recommended neighborhoods.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein sources of the neighborhood information include at least one of:merchandising, blogs, guides, reviews, people, or photos.
 10. The methodof claim 1, wherein the neighborhood visualization includes a firstflower representing the created neighborhood and a second flowerrepresenting the related neighborhood.
 11. An apparatus comprising: aneighborhood generator comprising one or more processors configured to:receive user input that identifies a topic for association with aneighborhood; create the neighborhood in association with the identifiedtopic, the neighborhood defining a group of users who share an interestor behavior; gather neighborhood information by using the identifiedtopic as a search term to search from sources including informationrelated to the identified topic, the neighborhood information includingdata from a related neighborhood determined based on participation ofthe group of users in the related neighborhood; automatically inviteusers to join the created neighborhood; and provide access to theneighborhood via a neighborhood visualization on a webpage.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 11, wherein the neighborhood generator is furtherconfigured to: determine that a further neighborhood is seldom used orunpopular among the users; and prune the further neighborhood from thewebpage based on the determination.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11,wherein the neighborhood visualization includes depicting a flower withdata elements related to the neighborhood being shown as leaves around acenter of the flower.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein theneighborhood generator is further configured to: invite the users tovote for the topic and receive votes for the topic.
 15. The apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the neighborhood generator is further configured to:obtain user behavior data that indicates behavior of the users withrespect to the webpage; dynamically detect a further topic based on thebehavior of the users with respect to the web page; and create a furtherneighborhood in association with the further topic.
 16. The apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein the neighborhood generator is further configured to:invite the users to vote for images displayed within the neighborhood.17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the neighborhood generator isfurther configured to: display information about users that join thecreated neighborhood including images of the users that join the createdneighborhood.
 18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the neighborhoodgenerator is further configured to: display a list of recommendedneighborhoods including a number of users that are within each of therecommended neighborhoods.
 19. The apparatus of claim 11, whereinsources of the neighborhood information include at least one of:merchandising, blogs, guides, reviews, people, or photos.
 20. Anon-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, whenexecuted by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine toperform operations comprising: receiving user input that identifies atopic for association with a neighborhood; creating the neighborhood inassociation with the identified topic, the neighborhood defining a groupof users who share an interest or behavior; gathering neighborhoodinformation by using the identified topic as a search term to searchfrom sources including information related to the identified topic, theneighborhood information including data from a related neighborhooddetermined based on participation of the group of users in the relatedneighborhood; automatically inviting users to join the createdneighborhood; and providing access to the neighborhood via aneighborhood visualization on a webpage.